Controlled Burn draws crowd to festival

Compression Controlled Burn wowed a large crowd at the annual Fernley Multi-Cultural Festival on Saturday night at the Out-of-Town Park's Rodeo Arena.

"This was by far the best Fernley Multi-Cultural Festival ever," said excited festival organizer Maria Duran.

That performance marked Compression's inaugural performance at the festival and featured fire dancers, art cars, aerial acts and music. "The parking lot was full and the seats at the rodeo stands were filled to capacity," said Duran, adding that it was awe-inspiring to see the faces of children light up when they watched the show.

Duran said the event grows each year and features a big draw such as fire-art show by Compression. Last year, the event highlighted performances from mariachis and charros.

The festival, now in its eighth year, featured a number of performances over the course of two days at the park, including the Fernley Multi-Cultural Aztec Dancers, Nevada Gunfighters, solo musical performances, and the country-rock band, Rocking Horse. On the final day, Shannon Hooper, former Miss Indian Nations, led visitors in a Native American round dance. Throughout the two days, DJ Bill Adamson keep the crowd entertained with a variety of music.

Nestled under the cottonwood trees, the park offered visitors a chance to shop 20 vendors for a variety of goods, including jewelry, clothing, dolls, fresh fruit and vegetables. In addition, a wide variety of food was available for guests to choose from, including Indian Tacos, Filipino cuisine, hot dogs and hamburgers and snow cones from the Fernley-Wadsworth Lions Club.

"This was the most successful event we've ever done," said Duran, adding that locals should mark their calendars for upcoming multi-cultural festival fundraisers for next year's event.